Dotson, Lady Vols are two wins from series

Thursday

A year and a half ago, Katherine Dotson was a senior at Savannah Country Day, where she signed her letter of intent to play softball at the University of Tennessee.

Eighteen months later, Dotson has been a major force in helping the Lady Vols reach the Super Regional for the first time since 2007.

Ranked No. 15 in the country, Tennessee (45-13 overall) faces Michigan (No. 2, 49-6) for the right to go to the Women's College World Series. The best-of-three Super Regional series begins at 7:30 tonight on ESPN. Games two and three, if necessary, will be Friday at 4:30 and 7 p.m. and will be shown on ESPNU.

"It's pretty exciting," Dotson said over the telephone from Ann Arbor, Mich. "It's the first time we've been to the Super Regional in two or three years, so it's pretty exciting.

"I think we're pretty confident," she added. "We're both good teams and it's tough that only one of us can go to the World Series. I feel like we have a good shot."

Though just a freshman, Dotson has quickly made herself an integral part of the Lady Vols offense. Batting second in the order, she has the team's second-highest batting average (.404) and is also 40th in the country in hitting.

Dotson has 62 hits with five doubles, three triples and three home runs with 51 runs scored, 36 RBIs and has successfully stolen 29 bases on 34 attempts.

For her efforts, Dotson was named First Team All-Southeastern Conference, Co-Freshman of the Year and SEC All-Defensive Team for her work in right field.

In the last week in March, Dotson was SEC Player of the Week and the National Collegiate Player of the Week after hitting .769 (10-of-13) with six RBI against Kentucky and Mississippi.

"It's really surreal, all the things I've accomplished," Dotson said. "But it really hasn't hit me yet, probably not until I get home. I'm just really excited and I've been blessed to be able to do so well."

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